Cocktail of the month: The hung, drawn and quartered

With Halloween in mind, October’s recipe from Muddy’s resident mixologist Jake Merrick-Wren of The Wren’s Nest, is the gruesomely named but delicious Hung, Drawn & Quartered. Or should that be ‘hanged’? I’ve no idea, you tell me.

This macabre tipple has been inspired by the infamous Bloody Assizes of 1685, in which Judge Jeffreys tried hundreds of people at Taunton Castle for supporting the Monmouth Rebellion against the King James II. Nineteen of the rebels were hanged, drawn and quartered (trust me, you don’t want to know the details) in the centre of Taunton at the Cornhill, now known as the Parade. Some say the victims’ ghosts haunt Taunton Castle’s Great Hall to this day.

Don’t know about you but I’m ready for a drink…

You’ll need

25ml Somerset cider apple brandy

12.5ml sloe gin (Jake uses homemade sloe gin – now is the season – but Sipsmiths and Plymouth both make a lovely one)

12.5ml sweet vermouth (Jake uses Martini Rosso)

12.5ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

12.5ml sugar syrup (caster sugar gently dissolved in hot water at a ratio of 1:1 ratio sugar to water and left to cool)

Mix

Add all ingredient to a mixing glass, add ice and stir with a bar spoon. Strain the cocktail into a chilled martini glass and serve with no garnish.